The dumbest, most short-sighted strategy of them all

[StickierBuns]

....if this is how Minnesota feels, just trade McCarthy. Seriously. I don't get it. 

Albert Breer talks with Eisen about Viking's QB situation

[JustInTime]

Breer gets one thing wrong. The conversation last August wasn’t we think he can start down the road at one point. The conversation was it’s time we split first team reps with Darnold. Big difference. 

We were definitely pointing to McCarthy coming out of preseason with a puncher’s chance of starting. Darnold was still Darnold. Was there even minimal word out of camp that Darnold suddenly looked like the guy taken 3rd overall? That he was looking like a guy who was going to have a career year? I don’t recall anything of the sort.

My guess is the plan before the injury was Darnold starts and at the first sign of reverting to the mean, we put in JJ. My guess is the Jags game would have been that turning point. But, what do I know.    

[pattersaur]

Yep, if the team loves McCarthy half as much as they've indicated, Darnold will be gone. Rolling with McCarthy is a risk, but no larger than rolling with Sam was last year.

I agree with Breer that "some sort of insurance" if McCarthy stinks or gets hurt is a good idea. But paying $30+M for Sam is like buying home insurance to cover 3x what your shack is worth. Does. Not. Make. Sense.

[MaroonBells]

Breer gets one thing wrong. The conversation last August wasn’t we think he can start down the road at one point. The conversation was it’s time we split first team reps with Darnold. Big difference. 

We were definitely pointing to McCarthy coming out of preseason with a puncher’s chance of starting. Darnold was still Darnold. Was there even minimal word out of camp that Darnold suddenly looked like the guy taken 3rd overall? That he was looking like a guy who was going to have a career year? I don’t recall anything of the sort.

My guess is the plan before the injury was Darnold starts and at the first sign of reverting to the mean, we put in JJ. My guess is the Jags game would have been that turning point. But, what do I know.

I agree with your first two paragraphs, not your third. Vikings were 7-2 at the time, Sam was in the MVP conversation and had two bad games in 9. And both of the bad games (Jets and Jags) were actually wins. No chance in hell any coach in the NFL risks the potential embarrassment of benching THAT guy to audition a rookie. 

As I've said, I understand why the Vikings are playing with the idea of bringing Darnold back. The security he provides to a contending team has real value. He also becomes a tradable asset. 

All that said, everyone needs to relax. I think there's about a 2% chance that the Vikings are willing to offer him more than another team.

[JustInTime]

I agree with your first two paragraphs, not your third. Vikings were 7-2 at the time, Sam was in the MVP conversation and had two bad games in 9. And both of the bad games (Jets and Jags) were actually wins. No chance in hell any coach in the NFL risks the potential embarrassment of benching THAT guy to audition a rookie. 

As I've said, I understand why the Vikings are playing with the idea of bringing Darnold back. The security he provides to a contending team has real value. He also becomes a tradable asset. 

All that said, everyone needs to relax. I think there's about a 2% chance that the Vikings are willing to offer him more than another team.

Hard to say for sure without the benefit of JJ playing the last two preseason games. He could have been White Jayden Daniels.

But, yeah, it’s a moot point. I think.

[purplefaithful]

I think they are ok going with JJM, I think they'd be even more OK having Sam or Dimes in that QB room with him this 1st full season.

In the end the mkt will determine if either of them are back, just like the Kirko situation in that regard.

Glad this should be resolved next week - finally.

[medaille]

The biggest thing they got wrong is that this isn’t a 14 win roster that needs to win now. This is still a rebuilding team. Much of the roster is going to turnover this year. Many key pieces on defense were short term in nature. Darrisaw is coming back from a midseason ACL. I don’t see this as a win now situation. I think this is more of a first year in a multiyear window. I think there’s some sense of urgency to try and win while Flores is still here though. With KOC and Flores we’re probably a double digit win team with most decent rosters.

That said I don’t think the situation is all that complex, and it doesn’t require getting all that stressed out about it or creating hyperbolic posts. The Vikings have been pretty clear about things. JJM is the starter. They’re going to try and bring in the highest quality veteran backup at a stomachable price. It’s probably Dimes if he wants it. Could also be Mullens or whatever. Maybe it’s Darnold for a one year at a moderate price and an actual QB competition. They’re not resigning Darnold for a billion dollars. They’re not bringing in Rodgers for $50M a year. We were never trading for Stafford. And in this theoretical scenario, if they bring back Darnold, and he’s performing better than JJM, is it the worst thing in the world to let the better QB keep playing?

[comet52]

The biggest thing they got wrong is that this isn’t a 14 win roster that needs to win now. This is still a rebuilding team. Much of the roster is going to turnover this year. Many key pieces on defense were short term in nature. Darrisaw is coming back from a midseason ACL. I don’t see this as a win now situation. I think this is more of a first year in a multiyear window. I think there’s some sense of urgency to try and win while Flores is still here though. With KOC and Flores we’re probably a double digit win team with most decent rosters.

That said I don’t think the situation is all that complex, and it doesn’t require getting all that stressed out about it or creating hyperbolic posts. The Vikings have been pretty clear about things. JJM is the starter. They’re going to try and bring in the highest quality veteran backup at a stomachable price. It’s probably Dimes if he wants it. Could also be Mullens or whatever. Maybe it’s Darnold for a one year at a moderate price and an actual QB competition. They’re not resigning Darnold for a billion dollars. They’re not bringing in Rodgers for $50M a year. We were never trading for Stafford. And in this theoretical scenario, if they bring back Darnold, and he’s performing better than JJM, is it the worst thing in the world to let the better QB keep playing?

The turnover luck was crazy both on D and with Darnold's very high TWP rate not actually leading to a lot of turnovers. Definitely not a 14 win roster.

But having Darnold and JJM on the roster is just an invite to a mess. Some bad play and the fans demanding JJM and what have you got? A mess.

In what world should Sam who is now allegedly way more valuable than he was a year ago (pardon me but I'm skeptical) supposed to take a deal where he gets to maybe sit on the bench collecting a big check while a kid takes all the snaps? What is he, Kirk Cousins? Are we the Falcons now, just doing some dumbass shit and hoping it works?

As I noted elsewhere the team doesn't leak negotiations, so all this Darnold comes back crap is his agent trying to pump up a weak market for a guy with a lot of flaws in his game. He really needs to land somewhere other than here because it's likely the only time in his life that he's going to garner more than backup money.

[JustInTime]

[MaroonBells]

Hard to say for sure without the benefit of JJ playing the last two preseason games. He could have been White Jayden Daniels.

But, yeah, it’s a moot point. I think.

There's also the possibility that the Vikings are feigning interest in Sam to keep his market value up...and not for some silly reason like boosting our comp pick. Regardless of whether he gets $35M or $15M, Sam's contract will likely be the biggest contract in the formula. If this is what they're doing, it's more likely the Vikings are just doing Sam a solid. 

QBs who win 14 games, throw for 4300 yards and 35 TDs don't grow on trees. And while I trust KOC's evaluation of JJ, and believe him when he called JJ a franchise QB, the NFL has dozens of examples of QBs who looked great early only to fail under the spotlight, even those who've won championships at the college level. Don't make me list them. 

That so many are willing to just overlook this fact is surprising to me. Yes, teams put their fortunes in the hands of rookies all the time, but 9 times out of 10, those teams are bottom dwellers who have nothing to lose. That's how they were able to get those QBs in the first place. For the Vikings, who hope to contend for a Super Bowl, with big investments in Darrisaw, Jefferson, Hockenson and likely a handful of very high priced free agents, there's some real risk there. 

Still, while I think it's true they want him back at a certain price, it's hard to see that price beating the offer of a team with zero options at QB, and certainly no top 10 pick waiting in the wings.